Is the new Knives Out really the best one? 

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery has been getting a lot of buzz online as the best one of the franchise (or at least closer to the first than Glass Onion). With the Netflix merger with HBO/Warner Brothers taking up a lot of air in the room and Paramount’s hostile bid to stop them, this big release has more stakes than most Netflix produced movies.

The Conservative Critic Asks: Is it entertaining? Does it have artistic/intellectual value? Is it liberal propaganda? 

The Conservative Critic Meter Check: Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Overall rating: Good

Detective formulas work for a reason. People love a ‘whodunnit.’ Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (Wake Up Dan Man) is no different. There is a robust (a little too robust) cast of suspects with distinctive personalities and an eccentric detective paired with a straight talking beat cop. Its well explored as is the point of the Knives Out franchise which pokes a little fun at the genre (sort of….pays homage maybe). The story is good enough to keep a viewer interested even though the conclusion is a little obvious. The pace was a bit slow for what it was and there was too many characters even for a story of this nature. There was the slightest liberal bend just in that one of the characters not painted in a great light was specifically a Republican political candidate. Overall the movie is good, its worth a watch especially on streaming. It was not amazing. It will not be your favorite of the year.

Is it entertaining?

Rating: Detective formula is okay, but a little slow and convoluted 

The story was fine, a detective exploring clues and trying to figure out what happened is always enough of a tale to keep people invested. It was not boring. It just wasn’t that interesting. The story takes a really long time to go very far. There really just wasn’t that much story at all and it felt like the writer was dragging out a lot of dialogue and exposition to lengthen a 45 minute movie into a feature. There were a lot of characters which is necessary of course for this format, but unlike the first Knives Out and even Glass Onion which most people didn’t like, these characters had pretty much nothing to do with each other and no relevance to the story at all. When he big reveal occurred, it felt really anticlimactic because how could anyone care about these characters that have no meaning? So the enjoyment is a bit dampened by the convolution of all the elements. 

Does it have artistic/intellectual value? 

Rating: Some interesting concepts make it less basic

The movie is really saved by its exploration of faith and religion. The only thing truly interesting about the movie is the reminder of the sincerity of faith and the power of prayer. There is a moment mid-film where the whole action comes crashing to a halt because of a phone call to the Priest which needs his attention and without spoiling the moment, it makes the whole movie 10x more intriguing and richer in depth. 

The performances are also pretty good where any room is given to the actors (most of them have no runway at all because of how many characters there are). Glenn Close, Josh Brolin and Josh O’Connor are given the most space to deliver their characters and they all do a brilliant job. Close really has a knack for walking the fine line between caricature and reality. She’s perfectly suited for a film of this nature. 

It’s an overall successful film in terms of quality. There are no glaring problems with its craftsmanship. 

Is it liberal propaganda? 

Rating: Very mildly yes

There is a character who is an aspiring politician and ran “GOP” and he lists off all these divisive issues he tried to “hammer” to get Republican voters but could never get them excited. The joke is the punchline at the end of this list which is (essentially)  “people are just numb now. I don’t know why.” The joke being that there are so many issues we’re “hammered” with every day that obviously we’re numb to it. Its only a liberal bit in that they’re able to make fun of all the Republican core monsters under the bed but couldn’t really bring themselves to take the flip side of any of those issues. Very mild. Hardly worth mentioning. 

Conclusion 

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is good. It’s not exciting or special but it’s definitely watchable especially for streaming at home. Except midway through when there is a brief exploration of faith and compassion which is actually very special. Had there been more on that vain, the movie would have been better for it.